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Canadian faces $100,000 fine for slaughtering his own pig

Mark Tijssen, a major in the Canadian Forces, is to appear in court next month to face charges of running an unlicensed slaughterhouse, failing to have an animal inspected both before and after slaughter, and distributing meat. If found guilty, Tijssen could face up to $100,000 in fines. The charges arose after a friend of Tijssen’s left his property on Nov. 11, 2009 with about 18 kilograms of pork. The two had jointly bought a pig and slaughtered it.

A group of people who jointly buy or raise an animal, slaughter it together on their own property, and take it home are now criminals? Words fail me. Hunters certainly ought to watch the precedent being set here very closely. Yes, this is Canada, but the US is rapidly moving in this direction with our food safety laws. Will last fall’s goat roast party become a criminal offense?